This course provides CME credit and is only for individuals that are eligible for CME credit (physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses). All others should register for the course under the Laboratory Training category where the course is offered for
P.A.C.E. credit.

Introduction to Quality Management in the Medical Laboratory has been revised and updated to reflect the release of the updated Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) document on which it is based. CLSI GP26-A4, Quality Management System: A Model for Laboratory Services; Approved guideline GP26, 4th edition, is available from CLSI (www.clsi.org).Intended audience and scope of practice: This online educational activity has been designed to meet the needs of physicians operating an office laboratory; healthcare professionals working as medical laboratory staff in non-waived diagnostic laboratories, including testing personnel, technical consultants, supervisors, and laboratory directors.This Quality Management System course introduces the laboratory to the concept of Quality Management Systems and the ever-increasing focus on quality in healthcare. It describes a plan for managing the quality of your laboratory’s test results and services using the Quality System Essentials (QSEs), and introduces you to the individual courses on each QSE. The course includes a glossary and links to additional resources.At the conclusion of this course, the learner will be able to:

This CME activity has been designed to change learner competence and focuses on the American Board of Medical Specialties areas of patient care, practice-based learning and systems-based practice.

This enduring material activity, Laboratory Director CME Program, has been reviewed and is acceptable for credit by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Term of approval begins 10/01/2017. Term of approval is for one year from this date. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

AAFP Prescribed credit is accepted by the American Medical Association as equivalent to AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ toward the AMA Physician’s Recognition Award. When applying for the AMA PRA, Prescribed credit earned must be reported as Prescribed, not as Category 1.

This course will take 1.5 hours to complete and there are no prerequisites. A credit certificate will be issued upon completion of the course evaluation form and post-test with a score of 80% or better.

It is the policy of the AAFP and COLA Resources, Inc. that the faculty, authors, planners, and other persons who may influence content of this CME activity disclose all relevant financial relationships with commercial interests* in order to allow CME staff to identify and resolve any potential conflicts of interest. Faculty must also disclose any planned discussions of unlabeled/unapproved uses of drugs or devices during their presentation(s). For this educational activity all conflicts of interests have been resolved and detailed disclosures are listed below:

Author: Lucia M. Berte, MA,MT(ASCP)SBB,DLM; CQA(ASQ)CMQ/OE
President of Laboratories Made Better!, PC, No discussion of unlabeled/unapproved uses of drugs/devices during presentation.

* The ACCME defines a commercial interest as any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients. The ACCME does not consider providers of clinical service directly to patients to be commercial interests.